ATLANTA (AP) — Several federal officials are in Atlanta to launch an international trade and entrepreneurship exchange.

U.S. Department of Commerce officials say representatives from the department's International Trade Administration and Economic Development Administration are in Atlanta early this week to launch the Americas Competitiveness Exchange on Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

Officials say Tuesday's schedule for the 45-member delegation includes touring Atlanta's technology centers and innovation hubs to learn about building public-private partnerships.

Officials say the group includes representatives from nearly two dozen Latin American and Caribbean countries.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press.

Soul singer Sam Moore records song to honor King

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Veteran singer Sam Moore of the soul duo Sam & Dave is releasing a song in remembrance of Martin Luther King Jr. to coincide with the anniversary of the civil rights leader's death.

Known as the "Legendary Soul Man," Moore teamed with producer Lawrence "Boo" Mitchell and studio musicians to record "They Killed a King" in Memphis in January.

The song is being released April 4, the 46th anniversary of King's assassination. King was shot while standing on the balcony of the old Lorraine Motel in Memphis.

Moore and his Sam & Dave singing partner, the late Dave Prater Jr., recorded several soul and R&B hits such as "Soul Man" and "Hold On, I'm Comin'" at Stax Records.

Moore knew King and performed at many of his speeches.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press.

Roadwork prompts I-75 lane closures in Monroe County

FORSYTH, Ga. (AP) — State transportation officials say a stretch of the northbound lanes of Interstate 75 will be closed for roadwork.

GDOT spokeswoman Kimberly Larson told the Telegraph of Macon that one or two lanes of the freeway would be closed between 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through April 18 while crews work on asphalt.

Larson says the work is expected to stretch from mile marker 182 to mile marker 187 in Monroe County, northwest of Macon.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press.

Group aims to turn Army post into logistics hub

FOREST PARK, Ga. (AP) — A dormant Army post near Atlanta will soon be transferred to a civilian group that hopes to remake it into a logistics hub that employs thousands.

A redevelopment authority will take control of about half the 1,400-acre site in Forest Park on May 2.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that it is the first phase in a total land transfer of 1,168 acres, with the rest going into civilian hands later this year once long-delayed environmental cleanup is completed.

Authority chief Fred Bryant said a distribution company is expected to close on 320 acres at the military post on May 2 as well and plans a $100 million, state-of-the-art distribution facility. Bryant said the facility would open in the fall of 2015 with about 750 to 1,000 jobs.

Information from: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press.

More than 15 vehicles vandalized in Dalton

DALTON, Ga. (AP) — Police in Dalton are investigating more than 15 cases of cars being shot by a BB or pellet gun since March 8 in part of the northwest Georgia city.

Dalton police say the cases are mainly near Underwood Street, and they are asking for the public's help in an attempt to solve the crimes.

The Daily Citizen reports (http://bit.ly/1lkuOpf) that several cars parked along the street in neighborhoods off of Underwood Street were left with dents or broken windows.

DALTON, Ga. (AP) — Local public defenders say they plan to continue defending a woman accused of killing a northwest Georgia store clerk unless District Attorney Bert Poston decides to pursue the death penalty.

Skyy Raven Mims, a 21-year-old aspiring model, dancer and rapper from Detroit, is accused of stabbing 37-year-old Dayahbhai Kalidas Chaudhari to death in the Dalton area on March 9.

Assistant Public Defender Brandon Sparks tells The Daily Citizen that his office will represent Mims for now.

Sparks said that if it becomes a death penalty case, his office would not have the resources to continue handling it and other lawyers would be sought to represent Mims.

Poston has said he needs more time to review the facts of the case before deciding whether to pursue the death penalty.

BAMBERG, S.C. (AP) — Bamberg County officials say a Georgia man died during a shoot-out in South Carolina last weekend.

The Times and Democrat of Orangeburg reported that Coroner Billy Duncan said 20-year-old William Pearson of Waycross, Ga., died in the shooting near Denmark on Saturday afternoon.

Sheriff Ed Darnell said he has turned the case over to the State Law Enforcement Division.

Darnell said four people were shot during a confrontation when a truck and a car pulled up near each other about two miles southwest of Denmark.

Two of those injured were taken to the Regional Medical Center in Orangeburg. The fourth shooting victim was taken to a Columbia hospital.

Two people have been arrested but their names and charges against them have not been released.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press.

Journalist involved in NSA leak to win UGA award

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — The journalist most associated with the coverage of Edward Snowden's leak of phone and Internet surveillance by the National Security Agency will be this year's recipient of the University of Georgia's McGill Medal for Journalistic Courage.

Glenn Greenwald was a columnist for The Guardian and is now a founder of First Look Media's "The Intercept." He'll receive the award during a ceremony in the fall.

Last June, Greenwald was the first journalist to report that the NSA was collecting the telephone records of millions of U.S. customers of Verizon, one of America's largest telecom providers.

Greenwald was nominated for the UGA award by Dorothy Parvaz, an editor at Al Jazeera English and last year's award recipient.

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